Bollywood Masala Mix
Vijay Anand was a celebrated filmmaker, writer, editor, and actor in Hindi cinema. Known as "Goldie," the younger brother of filmmaker Chetan Anand and matinée idol Dev Anand, Vijay Anand was born in Gurdaspur, Punjab, India on January 22, 1934 to a father, who was a lawyer. He lost his mother when he was only six, and he along with his other siblings went to live with his eldest brother Chetan and his wife Uma who raised him like their own child. In fact, Uma urged him to write and had a great influence on him.
A very literate man, Vijay Anand graduated from St. Xavier's College in Mumbai, where he had written several college plays. While still a teenager, he co-wrote the script with his sister-in-law Uma for his filmmaker brother Chetan Anand. The film was Taxi Driver (1954) where his other brother Dev Anand played the title role, and it was inspired by the crime thrillers of Hollywood. It was released through their home production company Navketan and became Goldie's first big hit.
Nau Do Gyarah (1957) was Vijay Anand's directorial debut, which was based on his own script. The film starred his brother Dev Anand and Dev's wife Kalpana Kartik. It became another hit. Goldie showed an exceptional visual style, especially when it came to picturizing song sequences.
His next film was the story of a black marketer and his redemption in Kaala Bazaar (1960). The film starred his brother Dev again, along with Waheeda Rehman, who became a regular heroine for most of Navketan films during that era. This was also the only film where all three brothers (Chetan, Dev, and Vijay Anand) acted together.
Tere Ghar ke Saamne (1963) with Dev Anand and Nutan was a romantic comedy that became another hit. Goldie also wrote the screenplay for Hum Dono (1961) and supposedly ghost-directed the film as well.
His masterpiece as a filmmaker came with Guide (1965). Based on RK. Narayan's novel The Guide, the film is unforgettable for its bold themes about how a man (Dev Anand) and woman (Waheeda Rehman) live together outside the sanctity of a marriage. Composer S.D. Burman's songs were given stunning visuals. The film became a huge hit and won several major awards, including two Filmfare Awards for Vijay himself for directing and for writing the dialogue for the film. With Guide, Vijay Anand became the Hindi film industry's big star filmmaker. He was a visionary, a genius who could make intellectually stimulating films that could also generate profits and win industry awards.
Vijay Anand was at the pinnacle of his fame, when he went back to Navketan to direct the hit film Jewel Thief (1967). But there was a wrinkle. He found his "Jewel Thief" leading lady Vyjayantimala to be a distracted diva, especially after he enjoyed the professionalism and dedication of his previous leading ladies Nutan, Waheeda Rehman and Asha Parekh. Nevertheless, Vyjayantimala gave a heartfelt and polished performance in Jewel Thief, and it seemed like Vijay Anand can do no wrong. But his next film proved otherwise.
After three hit films in a row (Guide, Teesri Manzil, Jewel Thief), Vijay Anand experienced his first flop. Initially, Kahin Aurchal (1968) had the makings of a hit, as it starred Dev Anand and Asha Parekh, who were both top box office draws in 1968, along with music composers Shanker-Jaikishen. But the film's financier Tolaram Jalan wanted a flop film to adjust his income taxes, and so he took the film from Vijay Anand and released it in a single matinée show and then pulled it. This experience pained the filmmaker, especially since the film never resurfaced again. He bounced back with Johnny Mera Naam (1970), which grabbed the top spot at the box office in 1970. It starred Dev Anand and Hema Malini.
Vijay Anand won two Filmfare Awards, one for editing and the other one for his screenplay, but his professional accomplishment was tempered by a personal loss, since his father had just passed away. He then directed Tere Mere Sapne (1971) based on the A.J. Cronin's novel The Citadel. He also played a supporting role as an alcoholic doctor. While, the film became his personal favorite, it wasn't a major success at the box office and became a turning point in his career.
His subsequent films like Blackmail (1973), Chhupa Rustom (1973), Bullet (1976) were major disappointments. Also, Dev Anand was establishing himself as his own director, so Goldie wasn't getting many directing opportunities at Navketan. Furthermore, he was going through personal problems, as he married his much younger relative in 1978 and turned to a spiritual leader, Godman Rajneesh.
He did return to directing films with multi-starrers like Ram Balram (1980) and Rajput (1982) but filming took a long time, because of the stars' busy schedules and Anand felt he made too many compromises. He still made occasional films, such as Hum Rahe Na Hum (1984) and Main Tere Liye (1988) but these films lacked the famous Vijay Anand style and weren't hits.
Vijay Anand also acted in films for other directors, such as Double Cross (1973) and Ghungroo ki Awaaz (1980). Waheeda Rehman and Rakhee proclaimed him to be a genius filmmaker but also told the press that his acting skills paled in comparison to his directing skills. He acted in two major hit films, Kora Kagaz (1974) and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978), but in both instances his acting was overshadowed by his leading ladies, Jaya Bhaduri and Nutan, who both won Filmfare Awards in the Best Actress category.
In the early 1990s, he was seen in the television serial Tehqiqaat playing Sam the Detective. In 1997, his older brother Chetan Anand's death devastated him. In 2001, he took over as the new censor board chief after Asha Parekh finished out her controversial three-year term. Earlier, she hadn't given clearance to his nephew Shekar Kapur's film Elizabeth (1998) and several film industry insiders expected some tension between them, especially after Parekh admitted that she and Anand didn't see eye-to-eye on policing adult films. But she invited him to her sixtieth birthday celebration in 2002, and they both celebrated the occasion as old friends and colleagues.
Anand was in the process of making another film with brother Dev Anand, when he died on February 23, 2004 due to a heart attack. He left behind his wife, Sushma and son Vaibhav, an aspiring filmmaker. His grief-stricken older brother Dev Anand wept openly at the funeral.
Imtiaz Ali’s untitled next Love Aaj Kal (2009): This time-twisty tale about two couples across ages, was a hit in the noughties. Imtiaz Ali’s upcoming romance starring Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan is said to be a sequel, supposedly titled Aaj Kal. Plot details are scant, with Randeep Hooda playing a pivotal character in the fold. The highlight, of course, remains Sara, stepping into a world previously graced by her father Saif Ali Khan.
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan: Trust Ayushmann Khurrana to steer his brand of social comedies in new directions. In 2017, he starred in Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, a film about a newly-married man with performance anxiety and erectile dysfunction. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, directed by Hitesh Kewalya, centres on a gay couple in small-town India. Mainstream Hindi cinema is finally opening up to queer stories.
Baaghi 3: Tiger Shroff’s Baaghi franchise has been a consistent performer at the box-office. The threequel, directed by Ahmed Khan, is reportedly a remake of the Tamil hit Vettai. Besides Tiger, the action epic stars Ritiesh Deshmukh, Shraddha Kapoor, Vijay Varma and Ankita Lokhande. The film was shot in Morocco, Egypt, Serbia, Turkey and Mumbai. Tiger has collaborated on the film’s action design, combining elements of Kung Fu, Krav Maga and Muay Thai.
Angrezi Medium: Irrfan Khan returns to Hindi cinema with a spin-off of Hindi Medium, the massive 2017 hit about the faultlines of the Indian education system. The new film, which focuses on foreign education, was shot in Rajasthan and London. Kareena Kapoor Khan and Radhika Madan have joined the cast, with the former playing the role of a cop. Producer Dinesh Vijan has stated that the character will recur in future iterations, hinting at plans of an extended franchise.
Sooryavanshi: This is the fourth installment in Rohit Shetty’s police universe. The film stars Akshay Kumar as DCP Veer Sooryavanshi, the chief of Mumbai’s Anti-Terrorism Squad. In a teaser, we got a glimpse of the film’s climax, assembling cameos by Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgn) and Sangram ‘Simmba’ Bhalerao (Ranveer Singh). It sure feels like an Endgame moment for Rohit fans, with Hindi cinema getting its first interconnected universe of supercops.
Coolie No 1 remake: David Dhawan’s 1995 remake of Chinna Mapillai grew a cult in Indian comedy. The film followed a porter (Govinda) who marries a rich girl (Karisma Kapoor) under false pretenses. The filmmaker returns to the farce once again, this time set in Bangkok and starring his son Varun Dhawan. The duo had attempted something similar with Judwaa 2, and while the formula feels ripe, it will be tough to top the enduring legacy of the source material.
Sadak 2: Mahesh Bhatt’s Sadak was the biggest hit of 1991. It paired Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt in a Taxi Driver-ish romance about an insomniac cabbie and a brothel girl. Mahesh, who hasn’t directed a film in 20 years, returns with a sequel in 2020. Releasing on July 10, Sadak 2 brings back Sanjay and Pooja alongside Alia Bhatt and Aditya Roy Kapur. The plot picks up from the original, with Sanjay’s Ravi battling with depression and assisting a young girl (Alia) expose a fake godman. The great Gulshan Grover is in the cast, though not as the antagonist.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2: This one’s big. In 2007, Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan teamed up for a Hindi remake of Manichitrathazhu. The result was a blockbuster horror comedy, a hilarious romp through a Rajasthani palace seemingly haunted by a pirouetting ghost. Despite the popularity of the title, the genre failed to take root up north. It was recently revived though, with the success of Amar Kaushik’s Stree, and several horror comedies are presently in the making.
Hungama 2: Hindi television has survived the past two decades on Priyadarshan re-runs. The ace director is finally back, parading a reboot of one of his most enduring comedy hits. Hungama 2 stars Meezaan Jaffery, Pranitha Subhash, Paresh Rawal, and Shilpa Shetty Kundra. It’s the filmmaker’s eighteenth collaboration with Paresh, in line with classics like Hera Pheri, Hulchul and Malamaal Weekly. Meezaan, meanwhile, is the son of Jaaved Jaaferi, so his comic talents will be duly tested.
Satyameva Jayate 2: They wouldn’t admit it, but critics adore Milap Zaveri. His 2018 vigilante thriller, Satyameva Jayate, was a trashy throwback to the masala movies of the ‘80s. Relentlessly overt in its displays of patriotism and pyromania, the film pitted John Abraham and Manoj Bajpayee in a plot involving corrupt cops, charcoal paintings, and fragile tyres. Milap has been hyping up the sequel, potentially featuring the ‘strongest’ character he’s ever written for John.